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1) Location.
So I just checked and pretty much the only people who can get married at Westminster Abbey are members of the British Royal Family i.e. probably not you.
But don’t despair! There are plenty of other gorgeous options. Almost every city has at least one or two historic churches with the requisite soaring ceilings and marble floors. Even newer cities, like Los Angeles where I got married, have some rather grand old churches and cathedrals. Mr. Clarke was very insistent on getting married in a beautiful church and we found several options. Most were in the $1,000 – $3,000 range for a wedding ceremony rental.
As an example, here are some of the ones we found:
Westminster Presbyterian Church
Beverly Hills Presbyterian Church
First Congregational Church of Los Angeles
Wilshire United Methodist Church
First United Methodist Church, Pasadena
First Baptist Church of Pasadena
Some churches have rules regarding who can get married at them and also about who can perform the ceremony so be sure to check the rules for each church before booking one as your wedding venue.
NB: I did not include any Catholic churches on this list because they are only open to Catholics and usually only to members of their own parish. So if you are a Catholic bride or groom, be sure to check with your parish about their policies. Similar situation for Orthodox churches.
If you would like help looking for a church location in your city, feel free to email me or leave a comment below. I’m more than happy to help you look.
On April 29, 2011, the British royal family gave us a glimpse into their world as they accepted a commoner as one of their own. The wedding of HRH Prince William to Miss Kate Middleton looked like a fairy tale. Solemn but joyous, grand but sweet, overwhelming but so personal. It was altogether incredibly beautiful.
What made it so beautiful? I think there were several key components that made it so memorable.
1) The location. Westminster Abbey has to be one of the most beautiful cathedrals in the world. Its towering ceilings that seem to reach to heaven itself. The history present in each stone. And the nearly magical way that light filters into the hallowed halls. It is impressive, awe-inspiring, and suitably solemn.
2) The ceremony. Though the ceremony was a very traditional Anglican marriage service, it was very moving. This partially due to the fact that they are words that have been repeated by many men and women through the past 400 years but they have been personally meaningful to each one of them. The words for the service were carefully and prayerfully written many years ago and have continued to be affirmed by the church. These words are vows to be spoken before God and one’s community. I’m sure that William and Kate are very nice people and have a very sweet love story but I’m so glad that the wedding service was about the vows they were making rather than about themselves. I think this is unfortunately rare for many young couples planning their weddings these days.
3) The people. A prince and a soon-to-be princess. It doesn’t get much more romantic than that. But there was something else about these two people that made their wedding especially beautiful. They treated themselves, each other, and the occasion with great respect. They looked oh-so-happy but also like they were very much aware of the solemnity of the occasion. This was especially beautiful coming from two individuals who are so young.
4) The dress. Obviously! It was so timeless, traditional, but fresh, lovely, and fit her perfectly. I could go on and on but plenty of people already are. I was so so happy that she chose something traditional rather than trendy. I’m sure hoping that her dress will influence a shift in the wedding dress industry toward some more traditional options.
Did you enjoy the Royal Wedding too? Over the next few days, I’m writing a series of posts on how you could incorporate these beautiful elements into your own wedding. And no, you don’t need $14 million. But then again, you probably won’t get permission to have your wedding at Westminster either. 
Mr. Clarke and I had the task of taking a rather empty room and turning it into a festive reception hall. The reception hall did have a few things going for it ahead of time which helped make our task significantly easier. 1) It had high ceilings (about 25 feet) with Art Deco-y chandeliers and an interesting patterns painted on it, 2) It had a stage at one end of the room, and 3) It was almost completely empty.
We found some great vintage travel poster re-prints and hung them on the pillars and walls. We constructed a few displays using vintage luggage and made the old-fashioned stage the focal point of the room.
We considered hanging paper lanterns but didn’t want to distract from the height of the ceiling or the fabulous chandeliers.
A very dear friend also set-up our guest book table for us using travel curios and an old leather briefcase for a card box. It was adorable and fit the theme so well. (Guest table post coming soon!)
Location: Immanuel Presbyterian Church Parish Hall
Vintage travel posters: Vintage Art and Posters Ebay store
Luggage: Borrowed from a friend and found at thrift stores
After all of my thinking posts on this blog about how to decorate the reception hall and especially the tables, I think it’s time to show how it all came together in the end.
I chose to go with colorful table runners, Moroccan lanterns in two different styles, votive candles, and small flower arrangements down long tables.
My mother made these adorable table numbers and place cards out of pages of an atlas containing old maps that I picked up for a $1.99 in the bargain bin at Borders. Also, just days before the wedding, I found some National Geographic magazines from 1966 and left one on each table.
And the best part of the tables? The friends that sat around them!
Lanterns: bargainbunch.com
Votive Candles: candle4less.com
Table Runners: Scarves found at a Turkish bazaar (but you can find similar ones here)
Flower Vases: Glasses picked up at various thrift stores
Flowers: The LA Flower Market
Next time I plan a wedding weekend, it might just have to be here:
The Union Hill Inn in Sonora County specializes in wedding weekend rentals. They have several different kinds of locations which are all lovely.
Trying to decide how to decorate the reception location.
Found this great site for wedding location in San Diego. I don’t need it anymore but if anyone else is interested…
http://www.co.san-diego.ca.us/parks/Weddings/wedparkmap.html
- Make and send Save the Dates
- Order invitations
- Figure out catering
- Design the decorating scheme for the reception and start collecting items
- Decide on flowers for bouquets and centerpieces
- Decide on what rentals we need to get for the receptions
- Write the ceremony! (Both Mr. Clarke and I are really looking forward to this part.)
Sorry for the long silence. Mr. Clarke and I took a two-week trip to LA to work on some wedding plans and visit his family. It was wonderful! But whirlwind. We got SO much accomplished.
1. Finalized our location! Wedding and reception to be held at Immanuel Presbyterian Church. We visited and it’s BEAUTIFUL! When we were looking at online, we were worried the huge sanctuary might feel too big for our guests. But we visited on a Sunday morning and there were only about 120 worshippers in the main sanctuary but we didn’t feel dwarfed by it. The church has a very interesting history. Built in 1929, modeled after a French Gothic Cathedral, but infused with Art Deco details. The reception hall is interesting but needs a little color.
2. I bought a dress! An INCREDIBLE sale at David’s Bridal persuaded me to buy an empire-waist, ivory chiffon dress from their Galina line. It has a chapel train and the some very lovely detailing. It fits perfectly but I’m going to add a little bit to it to make it more mine. And I spent so little, I’m ashamed to tell you the price.
3. I found bridesmaids’ dresses! Very cute style from Macy’s that I had already researched online. Imagine my delighted surprise when I actually got into a Macy’s store and found out that they were on clearance and at a seriously reduced price. Unfortunately, they were almost impossible to find in the color I wanted but my mother was very sweet and incredibly helpful and offered to call dozens of stores to track down the dresses in my bridesmaids’ sizes. We were able to find all of them! Except one, which we had to order in a larger size and then take in later. Isn’t a LOVELY dress though?
4. Mr. Clarke found a great Chaps three-piece Navy blue pinstripe suit at Kohl’s also at an incredibly reduced price. This is in the wrong color but a similar style.
He also found matching Navy blue vests for all of his groomsmen. They had 7 at the store and we needed 6! We’re just hoping they all fit well enough. I foresee some sewing projects in my future… But Mr. Clarke was very happy to find something after he had looked at 6 or 7 places and found nothing. He also found his shirt, tie, and shoes at Kohl’s, all also on sale. It was a good shopping day.
4. We bought our rings! We went to the Los Angeles Jewelry District and found just what we were looking for after browsing a couple different stands. I found a white gold ring with an interesting shape and a string of tiny diamonds along the top. Mr. Clarke found a manly but beautiful etched ring in white and yellow golds. We are both very excited about our finds and happy with the prices we paid.
There’s still lots to do but we’re glad to have most of the really big things out of the way!
Thank you again, friend!
LA Parks
http://www.laparks.org/info/wedding.htm
Venues with PHOTOS
http://barbqueexpress.com/Locations_Private.html
Orange County Venues
